Review: Wobbly Worm – a great garden game!

With summer upon us and children to entertain during the school holidays, it’s good to get out in the garden and play some games. We’ve been playing a new game from Spin Master Toys which is great in the garden, or works equally well inside if the weather is not on your side – Wobbly Worm.

Review: Wobbly Worm - a great garden game for kids

I confess I was initially drawn to this because I loved the name and seeing it in action on YouTube made me smile. I knew my son would love it and I was right. Wobbly Worm is designed for children aged 3+ and is an update on old fashioned hoopla. Wobbly Worm is a plastic worm with a base shaped like half an apple. Switch him on and he will wibble and wobble while you try to toss your hoops over his head.

The game is suitable for 2-3 players, but you could happily play with this by yourself, or in a group of friends or family.

Review: Wobbly Worm - a great garden game for kids

Wobbly Worm comes with 9 plastic hoops in different colours and sizes and a set of instructions. What aren’t included are batteries (you’ll need 2 C batteries) but you can put the worm together and play with your stationary worm while your other half nips tot he shops to buy some batteries.

The hoops come in three sizes, obviously the smaller the hoop the harder it is to get on the worm. I liked that the hoops have little connector for safety, which can be quickly unclicked and opened up if someone does something they shouldn’t be doing with their hoop.

It’s really easy to put your Wobbly Worm together, there are four worm pieces which fit together with connectors. You push one of the connectors into the base and put the smiley worm head on the top. All you need are the batteries which you’ll need a screwdriver to open up the slot to fit them into the apple base.

Review: Wobbly Worm - a great garden game for kids

You can make your worm as long or as short as you want, just by adding or removing worm sections. The Wobbly Worm has a maximum height of 3ft, so at full length he’s about right for my quite tall 6 year old. Of course, the taller he is, the more he wobbles. To set your worm off wobbling, just press the start button on the apple base and off he goes!

Wobbly Worm is a great way to build hand-eye coordination and it takes some concentration to get the hoop over your worm, even before you switch it on and the worm and apply both start wobbling all over the place. It really is lots of fun. You can make it easier or more difficult by adding worm sections; drawing a line where you have to throw your hoop from. If you’re a beginner, just don’t switch your worm on until you get the hang of it.

Review: Wobbly Worm - a great garden game for kids

My son absolutely loved it and it will be coming on holiday with us. Luckily it all packs down into a reasonably small box which we can just throw in the car. I like that you can play with it differently to change up or change down the difficulty levels. I also like that it’s working and refining his co-ordination. It is really good fun for all the family, even the adults!

Wobbly Worm costs around £20 on Amazon, but the price may vary depending on where you shop.

We were sent the Wobbly Worm for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own. This blog post contain an affiliate link.

Toy Review: Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle

This week we were sent the brand new not yet available in the shops Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle to play with and review. I had no idea my son had even heard of Hatchimals until he spied the box on the table and got all excited that he’d been sent one to play with.

Until now I’ve slightly avoided Hatchimals because I didn’t think he’d be into them and I thought he would think they were too girlie. It turns out I was wrong and I need to stop second guessing him.

Toy Review: Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle

For the uninitiated (like me) Hatchimals CollEGGtibles are little plastic creatures in eggs which you hatch open. They’re collectable, or “collEGGtible” if you prefer. This Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle pack is suitable for children aged 5+ and comes with a chunky 48 piece jigsaw puzzle.

People have been going mad over Hatchimals CollEGGtibles since before Christmas. Most kids seem to like blind bags of things they can collect. These are like blind bags, but they come in the eggs which you have to hatch, so it does add a bit more to the blind bag experience.

To hatch the egg you need to rub the purple heart until it turns pink, then press your thumbs above the heart to crack the egg open to reveal the Hatchimal inside. The Hatchimal itself is a small plastic creature, ours looked like a yellow koala with silver wings. Once you’ve cracked the egg open, there’s a perforation line at the bottom, so you can peel the eggshell away and leave the bottom of the egg to display your Hatchimal in.

Toy Review: Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle

Also in the Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle was the 48 piece mystery puzzle. I think the mystery element is that you don’t know which Hatchimal will be on the puzzle. Ours matched the Hatchimal in the egg and was the little yellow koala with wings.

The puzzle itself isn’t overly challenging for the age range it is aimed at. The pieces are a large size and it’s reasonably easy to put together. With the puzzle we had there were large expanses of yellow, which made figuring out which yellow piece went with another yellow piece a bit trickier. But it’s all good clean fun with a hint of developmental activity.

Toy Review: Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle

The Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle costs £6 which I thought was a good price for a Hatchimal and a jigsaw puzzle. Hatchimal eggs cost £3 each, so £6 for the egg and the puzzle seems like a good deal to me.

The Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle isn’t yet available in the shops but will be out soon (I’ll update this blog post with a link when I can). At £6 this would make a great birthday present for Hatchimals fans; my six year old seems to be the newest and most enthusiastic Hatchimals fan in town!

Watch the small boy unbox and play with his new Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle.

We were sent the Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Mystery Puzzle for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set

We recently reviewed the PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set which you can link up with other Paw Patrol track sets like the PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set which we’ve been playing with this week.

Review: PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set

The PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set is a plastic track set which is made from 8 pieces of track and comes with a barn, a set of stickers and an exclusive Farmer Al Racer and Rocky Mini Figure. The barn has a weathervane which you can turn to close the fence and keep the cows off the road. It’s a simple track set and ideal as a first track set for Paw Patrol fans.

Review: PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set

Aimed at children aged 3+ my six year old put this together quickly and enjoyed playing with it. It is quite basic, but he liked the barn and the rotating weathervane feature. He was very keen to connect it up to the other Paw Patrol track sets he’s got. I think as a stand alone set this is fine for younger children, but for a six year old the set is quite basic on its own.

It does come with an exclusive Farmer Al Racer and Rocky Mini Figure which he was very pleased with. The farmer, which isn’t available anywhere else was a hit. He enjoyed role playing being the Farmer, trying to herd the cows and make his way down the track he’d covered with rock stickers.

Review: PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set

PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set is made from solid plastic and requires no batteries. For children who want toys with flashing lights and blaring sirens, this isn’t the toy for them. You need to provide your own sound effects and that’s fine by me. There is no assembly required, other than putting the track together and decorating with the stickers which come with it.

The PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set costs £19.99 (currently £13.20 on Amazon) and it is suitable for children aged 3+. I know my six year old would have gone wild for this when he was three.

Watch our video to see how to put the PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set together and see how it works.

We were sent the PAW Patrol Rocky’s Barn Rescue Track Set for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own. This blog post contains affiliate links.

Review: PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set

If you’re the parent of a child under 6, you will in all likelihood know everything there is to know about Paw Patrol. This kids cartoon has hit the big time and girls and boys adore it equally. My son is no exception and his love for the Paw Patrol Rescue Pups shows no sign of waning. He has Paw Patrol books, cuddly toys, games and now some of the Paw Patrol track sets to play with. We put the new PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track from Spinmaster Toys to the test.

Review: PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma's Lighthouse Rescue Track

The PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track set is a colourful plastic track set featuring Zuma and Skye. The set has a light up lighthouse and the track can be set out in a number of different ways. Zuma who is in his hovercraft zooms down the slope, knocking the lever and releasing Wally the walrus from the net. The Lighthouse Rescue Track set links up with other track sets in the series to create your own Adventure Bay.

Review: PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma's Lighthouse Rescue Track

Press the top of lighthouse to activate the light and spin Skye as she flies around to search for Wally the walrus. Once he is spotted, launch Zuma to the rescue. Oh no, Wally is stuck in a net! Lift the ramp to launch Zuma in his Hovercraft down the hill. Once he reaches the water he’ll hit the lever and rescue Wally. Build the world of Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set with 12 track pieces, 1 Wally track piece, 1 lighthouse, and 1 dock. You can even move the trees to switch the track and send Zuma straight to the dock and in to the water! Paw Patrol is on a roll with the Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set.

Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set contains –

3 Track ends
A Dock
Lighthouse
Skye Mini figure
A Wally Track Piece
4 Water Track Ramps
Zuma Hovercraft Racer
1 Merge Track
1 Intersection Track
2 Merge Water
1 Straight Water Track

The PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track is pretty easy to put together. The only slightly tricky bit is attaching the Skye mini figure to the plastic bar which goes on the lighthouse. This bit might require the help of an adult as it is a little bit fiddly.

The lighthouse track set is pretty fun. There’s a button on the top of the lighthouse which you press and the lighthouse lights up and Skye flies around it (or rather spins around it). Near the lighthouse there is a ramp. Lift up the ramp and it tips Zuma in his hovercraft down and around the track, knocking the lever and lifting the net holding Wally the walrus captive.

The track set is lots of fun to play with, Ben pointed out that it links together with the other track sets, so you can extend the play and incorporate the other rescue pups and other parts of Adventure Bay. Ben really enjoyed playing with it, especially banging the button on the lighthouse and making Skye spin around. He also liked sending Zuma down the track to rescue Wally.

Review: PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma's Lighthouse Rescue Track

It’s a well thought out set and you can play about with the route of your track. Apart from the light in the lighthouse there’s nothing electronic about it, it doesn’t beep or play music and you’re largely reliant on your own imagination. Ben is a very imaginative child, so he’s very happy to act out a whole range of rescue scenarios with his Paw Patrol figures and the Lighthouse Rescue Track without any prompting from us.

Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set is mostly made from colourful plastic. The plastic isn’t flimsy and the track fits together easily. The instructions for slotting the lighthouse, dock and track together are easy to follow and it can all be fully assembled in a few minutes. The lighthouse requires 3 LR44 batteries which are included, so it’s ready to play with as soon as it’s out of the box.

The Lighthouse Rescue Track Set is for ages 3+. My son is 6 and he has really enjoyed playing with it. He likes that it links together with his existing Paw Patrol track and he can use it to play with all the Paw Patrol figures he’s got. He has a wonderful imagination and can spent hours playing with it, setting up rescue scenarios and generally having fun with it.

This set costs around £29.99 and contains lots of track pieces, two figures and some larger pieces such as the lighthouse and the dock. I think it is good value for money. I especially like it because the only battery you need is for the light in the lighthouse. This means that there is no repetitive music or noises which could potentially irritate.

Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set is made my Spinmaster Toys and is available from a wide range of toy shops and online retailers such as Amazon.

The Verdict:

Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set is a solidly built and colourful track set for Paw Patrol fans ages 3+. My six year old is really enjoying playing with it. Although I do think he’s very much in the upper age range for this toy. It is simple to put together and play with and has enough moving parts to keep things interesting.

I would say that the Skye figure is a little on the small side. I suspect that is because she has to be put on the plastic bar to be spun around the lighthouse. It is also a little bit fiddly to get her on the plastic bar. So expect a few requests for help attaching her to the bar and the lighthouse.

Additionally, we liked that it linked up to other Paw Patrol track sets, so you can create your own Adventure Bay. This could be the kind of toy you build and collect the whole set of over a period of time.

Review: PAW Patrol Skye & Zuma's Lighthouse Rescue Track

We were sent Skye & Zuma’s Lighthouse Rescue Track Set for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own. This blog post contains affiliate links.